Moroni has 'high hopes' for today's state House redistricting meeting

Lawyer Michael Moroni of Advance, Missouri, the only area representative on the 20-member panel charged with establishing new legislative boundaries for the General Assembly's lower chamber, said Wednesday he is optimistic of a successful conclusion to its work by the Jan. 23 deadline.

The House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission will meet today in Jefferson City to try to unify two proposed boundary maps — one drawn up by Republicans, the other by Democrats.

If the effort is ultimately unsuccessful, as it was the last two occasions citizen commissions have been asked to draw boundaries, judges will step in and do the work.

"I have high hopes we can reach an agreement between both sides," said Moroni, a Democratic representative on the commission whose legal practice is centered in Bloomfield, the Stoddard County seat.

Moroni said today's gathering in the Thomas Jefferson State Office Building, nearby the Governor's Mansion, is a "work session," which may or may not be the final meeting of the panel.

"I expect Republicans and Democrats will caucus separately for a while so it could be quite a long day, and we may not get it finished — requiring us to meet again."

Moroni said it will take a minimum of 14 members, or 70%, of the commission, appointed in July by Gov. Mike Parson, to agree on a unified boundary map encompassing all the state's 163 House districts.

Numerical changes since the 2020 census, which saw Missouri's total population rise 3% to 6,154,913, necessitate the realignment of boundaries.

• Cape Girardeau County saw its 2020 population rise 8% in 10 years to 81,710.
• Perry County saw its 2020 population drop nearly 1% over the decade to 18,956.
• Scott County saw its 2020 population decline 2.9% from 2010 to 38,059.

The last two times citizen commissions tried to draw legislative maps, in 2011 and 2001, they deadlocked — requiring the Missouri Supreme Court to step in and appoint a group of six appellate judges to fix boundaries.

If the House commission can agree on a unified plan, it will be sent to Missouri Secretary of State John R. "Jay" Ashcroft.

The Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission, also appointed by Parson, was unable to complete its work, meaning the legislative map for the 34 seats in the General Assembly's upper chamber — including that of 27th District incumbent Holly Thompson Rehder of Scott City — will be drawn by judges.